Last night’s Red Sox walk-off win was a brilliant one. It’s fair to say, the most exciting Boston game of the 2017 season, and all the more so as it came against a very tough, very motivated opponent.

Where in the standings might the 2017 Red Sox be without Chris Sale and Craig Kimbrel? So on a night when neither had their best stuff, the offense came through for an important win to put Boston back atop the American League East.

Chris Sale gave up five Indians runs over the first two innings on Monday. That snapped a 21.2-inning scoreless streak. It was just the second of 22 starts this season in which Sale allowed a first-inning run.

And yet, even with this uncharacteristically bad outing, Sale manages to draw comparisons to the great ones. Elias Sports Bureau says the only other Red Sox starter coming off three or more straight scoreless starts to give up at least five runs before the start of the third inning is Cy Young, on July 6, 1903, against the St. Louis Browns. Of course, Young went on to pitch the complete-game, earning an 8–6 win in that one.

Satisfyingly, the Red Sox have plated 6+ runs in back-to-back games. The offense is back, or is it? We’ve certainly seen this before, the frustrating, on-again/off-again offensive performances. Monday’s was the first where the Sox scored four or more runs in multiple innings of a game since last September 2nd at Oakland.

Especially given the news of Dustin Pedroia‘s trip to the DL, how good does the signing of Eduardo Núñez look right now? Playing at second base on Monday, Núñez went 3-for-5 for his fifth three-hit performance in his last nine games. His two-out double tied the game in the second inning and he’s now 31-for-72 (.431) with runners in scoring position this season.

A resurgent Mookie Betts drove in his club-best 67th RBI on Monday. He’s now 36-for-87 (.414) with runners in scoring position in 2017. Betts leads the AL since the start of last year at 86-for-228 (.377) with RISP.

It was great to see Mitch Moreland showing offensive signs of life again on Monday, too. His second inning, three-run home run sparked an offensive rally that erased the early five-run deficit. Moreland, who also doubled in the sixth inning, is now 4-for-11 (.364) over his last three games after going 4-for-46 (.087) with no extra-base hits in the 15 games before that.

Moreland’s ninth inning strikeout should have ended the game but, fortunately, the ball squirted away from Indian catcher Yan Gomes and Moreland reached, allowing the hero, Christian Vázquez, to come to the plate.

It’s not unreasonable to expect the league to figure out Rafael Devers at some point and cool him down. Until then, though, he’s on a torrid pace going 2-for-4 with a walk on Monday. Devers reached base safely in seven straight plate appearances (a streak that ended with a foul out in the fifth inning). Devers has now reached safely in all seven career games. In the last 50 years, only six other Red Sox have started their careers with a seven-game on-base streak: Sam Horn, Mo Vaughn, Shea Hillenbrand, Kevin Youkilis, and Daniel Nava.

Boston is now 39-for-105 (.371) with runners in scoring position for their last 13 games.

Pitching Implosion

It wasn’t just Sale who had a tough night. Indians starter Carlos Carrasco lasted just 1.2 IP after coughing back up his team’s five-run lead in the second inning.

A succession of pitchers, including old-friend Andrew Miller, struggled to hold the game in check. In all, 12 pitchers would appear in Monday’s game (seven for the Tribe and five for the Sox).

Newly acquired Red Sox set up man Addison Reed made no new friends, allowing a solo shot by Carlos Santana to make it a one-run game in the eighth. Kimbrel promptly allowed a game-tying home run by Francisco Lindor in the top of the ninth inning and then the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.

In the bottom of the ninth, Cleveland closer Cody Allen followed suit with a meltdown of his own that allowed the Sox to win the game. Kimbrel would walk away with both a blown save and the win.

Vázquez’ remarkable night

Fans know that Christian Vázquez would not normally have started behind the plate for Sale. He was there, however, because mainstay battery-mate Sandy León tweaked his knee in his game-winning slide to home on Saturday.

Vázquez has been on a tear lately, entering Monday’s action 8-for-16 (.500) with three extra-base hits during a four-game hitting streak. Still, Red Sox Nation couldn’t help but wonder if Sale’s early innings missteps could be attributed in some way to Vázquez. Sale, of course, batted that way in post-game comments. “Didn’t matter who was back there tonight, honestly. I had a bad night.”

With the bat,Vázquez seemed unfazed by the rough start, chipping in for three of the club’s 15 hits. It’s his fourth straight multi-hit game. But it was the last hit that mattered most, a towering, majestic 408-foot, two-out home run to center field that gave the Red Sox a 12-10 victory.

Vázquez had just one other HR this season and had never had a walk-off round-tripper.

It was just the second two-out, walk-off home run by a No. 9 hitter in baseball this season (also Miami’s JT Riddle) and the first for the Red Sox since Del Wilber, who connected against Don Larsen on May 20, 1953.

Vázquez and León have now both hit walk-off home runs this season. According to ESPN, the only other season in which two different Red Sox catchers hit game-ending homers was 1995 (Mike Macfarlane and Bill Haselman).

At home this season Váz` is now 36-for-94 (.383), the best home AVG in the AL (minimum 50 at-bats).

The weakened Red Sox offense, so hobbled by the flu, exploded for eight runs Tuesday to put Baltimore back in its place after the Birds arrived at Fenway having won four of their last five. Orioles skipper and chief grump Buck Showalter declared himself tired of hearing about Boston’s flu problems, though no doubt some Sox fans were feeling the same way.

Happy to be home after a short and tough 1-3 road trip to Detroit, the Red Sox set new season highs Tuesday for both hits (15) and runs (8). Five Red Sox batters had multiple hits with two a piece for Dustin Pedroia, Mookie Betts, and Chris Young, and three hits for Andrew Benintendi. But the standout performance of the night belonged to catcher Christian Vázquez, who collected four hits, including a triple, and his first career stolen base.

http://gty.im/667401766

Vazquez’ achievements Tuesday were historic, making him the first Red Sox batter to reach safely in each of his first seven plate appearances of a season since Ted Cox in 1977.

The last Sox player to match Vázquez’s stolen base and four hits to include a triple was Jacoby Ellsbury on the Fourth of July 2011 against the Blue Jays. Vázquez is now just the 12th player in franchise history since 1913 with these achievements in a 9-inning game.

Unique among catchers

Since at least 1913, no Red Sox catcher has put together the kind of game Christian Vázquez did on Tuesday. Indeed, the last Sox catcher with four hits of any kind and a stolen base in the same game was Johnny Peacock on September 21, 1938. Coincidentally, Peacock’s game that day came against the forerunners of Orioles, the St. Louis Browns. Two other Boston backstops, Gene Desautels and Rick Ferrell, had similar games in 1937 and 1935, respectively, but unlike Vasky’s, none of those other games were played at Fenway.

With his unique collection of hits and a stolen base, Tuesday’s game put Vázquez in the company of Baseball Hall of Famers Yogi Berra, Al Lopez, and Bill Dickey. Vasquez is now one of just 16 major league catchers in the past 105 seasons with 4H/3B/SB. The last was the Indians’ Andy Allanson in 1986.

Pomeranz solid in first Fenway Win

“I feel like I waited forever,” said Sox starter Drew Pomeranz of his first home win after Tuesday’s game. Pomeranz worked 6.0 solid innings allowing four Baltimore hits and one earned run with a walk and six strikeouts. He’s now 4-0 with a 1.17 ERA over his last four straight first starts of a season.

At one point Tuesday, Pomeranz sat down 12 Orioles in a row. And when Baltimore did get on base, Pomeranz held them hitless four times when they put men into scoring position. His .150 opponents’ AVG overall with runners in scoring position since the start of the 2016 season is the best such mark in the majors (minimum 100 at-bats).

More Doubles for Moreland

New Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland doubled in a fifth straight game Tuesday, extending a new career high streak for him. He’s now tied with Dave Stapleton for the club’s longest such streak by a first baseman since at least 1913.

Dustin Pedroia, meanwhile, collected his 16th career game with four or more RBI. Pedroia’s four RBI on Tuesday came over three separate plate appearances. Pedroia’s current hitting streak makes him the first Red Sox hitter to hit safely in each of the club’s first seven games since J.D. Drew hit in nine-in-a-row in 2007.

Sox farmhand catcher Jake Romanski got a 50-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Amphetamine, a stimulant in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Romanski is currently on the roster of the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. His suspension, one of five handed down by The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, begins with the start of the 2017 International League season.

What might have been: Seven years ago this week Boston signed future Hall of Famer Adrián Beltré to a one-year, $9 million deal to play third base. In that stellar year Beltre enjoyed his first of four All-Star selections, slashing .321 AVG/.365 OBP/.553 SLG with 28 home runs and 102 RBI over 154 games. The following year Beltre signed with the Rangers (a deal that was later extended through 2018) where he owns an .873 OPS in the six years since.

Rusney Castillo (remember him?) is 20-for-51 with three doubles, seven RBIs, five walks and seven strikeouts in winter ball action in Puerto Rico. Castillo owns a .431 on-base percentage, .451 slugging percentage and .882 OPS, according to a report on MassLive.com. The winter ball numbers are a small sample size, to be sure, though Castillo quietly slashed .300/.335/.400 in the second half at Triple-A last season. Regardless, he’ll earn $11.3 million during 2017.

Let’s end this wrap-up on a happier note. Surely you’ve seen this, but even if you have…

In a day of superlatives could anything really top the performance of Mookie Betts?

Betts electric started right from the beginning of the game with an outstanding catch robbing the Nationals’ Bryce Harper of a home run into the bullpen.

Before the 1st inning was done Betts would steal second and third base in a smart, heads up play that capitalized on a Washington shift that left third undefended. Later Betts said he and first base coach Arnie Beyeler had spoken about this possibility, but Betts’ intelligence, athleticism, and instinct continue to be impressive.

According to the Society for American Baseball Research, Betts basepad acumen marked only the 11th instance of a player stealing 2+ bases on the same play since 1915.

After scoring a run in the first Betts then clubbed his 2nd home run of the season, a three-run blast that put the Sox up early, 4-0.

Ortiz moves up

With a 6th inning, 419-foot home run David Oritz tied Chipper Jones at #32 on Baseball’s All-Time HR list. It was his 1,033rd extra-base hit tying Ortiz with Sammy Sosa at #28 on the all-time list in that category. With his next RBI Ortiz will tie Joe DiMaggio for the 46th-most in baseball history.

Tough competition

Against a tough Washington pitching staff Red Sox’ bats were solid. A seemingly more confident Xander Bogaerts went 2-for-3 while Pablo Sandoval has now scored a run in 5 straight games, tying the 2nd-long such streak in his career. His record is 6 games set April 7-13, 2012.

Catcher Sandy León, acquired for cash from the Nationals late in Spring Training after Christian Vazquez‘ season-ending injury, went 3-for-4 against his former club. The 3 hits were a career high for León who has appeared now in 37 MLB games since 2012.

Not to be overlooked, newcomer Rick Porcello picked up his first win as a Red Sox, allowing 4 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), and a walk over 8.0 innings pitched. He allowed 2 solo home runs while striking out 6. Of the 90 games in which Porcello has allowed a home run it was the 23rd where he has given up multiple roundtrippers.

Series continues

Having lost 4 of their last 5 games it’s a good time to face the Nationals, who are favored by many to be World Series contenders in 2015. The Washington club is off to its worst start since the beginning of 2009 when they went 0-7.

On what was a beautiful day in Boston the Red Sox improved to 5-2 to stay atop the American League East. Monday’s win means the Sox are now 69-46 (.600) for all-time in home openers, including 10 of their last 11 first games.

Some changes in the coaching staff—voluntary or involuntary—seem likely

There’s a realization that mistakes were made when it comes to young players, but they won’t back away completely from that approach going forward

And in case you missed it, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo ignited a bit of a firestorm with this look at who should stay and who should go on the Red Sox roster. I’m interested in your thoughts. Leave them in the comments.